Apple DVD Player Region

I popped in a different region DVD in my Macbook Pro and it said that I can change it to that region but that I can only change region 5 times before it locks up. Is there any way around that?

 

the only way around this is to flash your drive with new firmware. however this is risky as a wrong flash can cause trouble. download new firmware at the manufacturers site (OEM site). i think the following link would help
http://www.pcanswers.co.uk/tutorials/default.asp?pagetypeid=2&articleid=34713&subsectionid=606

 

Thanks Kuncheesh.. I thought maybe there'd be a simpler, safer way. I guess I'll just deal with it for now..

 

This really sucks for people who travel and buy DVD's while on the road travelling. I travel often and buy different DVD'S while abroad. This limitation things is really bad

 

You can use VLC, that has no region limitations .

 

As Sam wisely directed VLC will bypass this nuisance step imposed by the dvd overlords

 

All companies are technically required to do so though. It's part of licensing the ability to read DVDs. The reason VLC does not do it is because it is open source programming that people disassembled the code for other software DVD players, and wrote their own. (Technically illegal, but it's really hard to stop them).

VLC is a great application though, and it will play almost any video that you can throw at it.

 

Most DVD players are locked to their region by firmware. With Apple, however, it is the actual DVD Player application that is locked to the region, not the drive.

Therefore, as suggested before, all you have to do is get a region free player (such as VLC), and you will be fine.

 

Cool. I already returned the DVD that I was trying to play. So next time I pop the DVD in all I have to do is quit Apple's DVD program and open it with VLC? Thanks

 

Yes, that's the right way to bypass region switching menace .

 

Is this thread legal

 

Well, personally, I let this go, as long as you have the right to play the DVD (you purchased it, rented it, etc.), as I don't believe in excessive DRM-lockdowns like DVD region codes.

 

The real purpose behind the region codes is to prevent a movie that is in release in one region from being pirated and sold in another region. Like almost all DRM, it doesn't totally prevent what it is trying to stop but it does quite often prevent honest users from viewing content they purchased legally. The fifth time you switch your DVD region, you are stuck with wherever you left it. For people who travel, this is a total joke. I would think that for people who travel, a program like "VLC" would be considered "fair use" but the DRM overlords aren't really all that concerned with our ability to view content but rather with their ability to sell it to us over and over again. If this crap is allowed to run it's course, pay per breath will be coming to a pair of lungs near you.

 

Fair use is very important for all of us and this thread has nothing outside fair use.

I buy educational DVDs for my kid, they're mostly cheap ($10-15) but some are more expensive and he's destroyed quite a few already so I started copying them and keeping the originals in our (my wife's and mine) library and there is nothing wrong with that IMO.

Sure, it's a fine line; Technically it's illegal but it's fair use. I don' give them out, I don't sell them and I certainly bought each and every one of them. DRM has done nothing to curb piracy but has done a lot to hurt all of us consumers who bought and continue to buy these things.

VLC is great and has an add-on available (FairMount) to do precisely what I described above.

 

Yeah, it's good that some people are realising this, as shown by Blu-ray DVDs, which only have 3 region codes as opposed to 50 or so. Now people just need to realise that DRM is a bad idea as well

 

I'm just glad the music industry is finally realizing it. By the end of this year I think there will no longer be DRM'd music. Movies OTOH, that's going to take some time. And video games... forget it....

Slowly but surely people from all industries are starting to see the ugly side of DRM and how its heavy handed use has backfired for the most part.

 

Where can one get VLC for our laptops? First time I have heard of VLC..

 

When we buy a laptop we should be able to pop in any DVD or CD while travelling and watch what we want rather then having to wait till we get back to out home country so we can purchase a local DVD or CD to either watch a movie or listen to music..

 

Just Google it, its available for Mac OS X & Windows .

 

Many thanks